Watch Update - 2024-09-29
The Islander
Some unfortunate series of events led to the Islander Journey BDL77 to get jammed between 30-40s on the dial. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary like drop it or ride a hardtail motorcycle down any road in Lousiana. It's on its way back for service or a possible movement replacement which is disappointing as it had started to operate at around +1s/d and that's quite remarkable.
The Hamilton
Swatch Group's repair center has finished the diagnosis and it appears for now that the repairs will be carried out under warranty. Much of the internet says if anything is actually broken in a current Swatch Group product no repair is done on the movement and instead a new movement is thrown in to keep turnaround times acceptable. The estimated date of completion is in the end of October, or roughly six weeks after it got to the shop. That alone is enough to make me want to learn how to service mechanical movements myself.
Tool Watch Musings
In another post I made some remarks about what I considered true tool watches. Two weeks later I may have some slightly different opinions. Mostly, these center around the day, or day-date, complications. My general preference is that they not be present at all, but I will agree that for something one truly wears on a daily basis there might be some real utility to the features.
This change of heart is likely driven at an attempt to have one time piece that can serve as a true Every Day wear and meet all my needs. Perhaps one does not really require a flyback chronograph to time IFR holds - a countdown bezel might just do the trick and for quite a bit of savings in both money and mechanical complexity. The Sinn 104 on an H-link bracelet would do for any occasion I can think of having any desire to attend so maybe I narrow the field and just get one to rule them all.
If I later decide I simply must have a chronograph Sinn makes quite a few of those as well. The 356 even exists in diameters that are not completely insane.